Coworking giant WeWork debuted WeWork Go, a program for minute-by-minute desk rentals, in China this quarter. Via WeWork’s WeChat mini program (an app within the app), customers can search WeWork’s desk spaces, see how crowded they are, and then scan a QR code to check in to their desk rental.

Interesting. WeWork Go essentially flips the model employed by Starbucks, the leading purveyor of coffee and hang out/work space in China. Rather than paying for coffee and then getting a free space to sit, WeWork Go users pay for space by the minute and then get free coffee. You might not be operating in China, or trying to compete with a brand as mighty as Starbucks. But there are key lessons here for any business:

- Tune in or get out! Localization as at the heart of this idea. WeWork Go is addressing local circumstances – namely, overcrowded coffee shops in China – to beat Starbucks at its own game. In Asia especially, global brands have no choice but to tailor to regional markets, or risk being beaten by more in-tune local competitors. See how Indonesian ride-hailing service Go-Jek expanded across Southeast Asia after driving out Uber. Meanwhile home-sharing company Tuija is using local know-how to compete with Airbnb in China. If you’re a smaller local player: what region-specific expertise do you have that can help you beat the global giants? Or if your brand is that global giant – can you rethink your strategy in terms of local context? 

- TRYVERTISING. WeWork faces fierce local competition in China, mainly from Ucommune (which, by the way, is now raising millions to rival WeWork on a global front as well). WeWork Go, then, is an interesting way for the company to target in-betweeners: customers who want WeWork’s services but aren’t prepared to commit to full membership given the other options available. Can you also launch an innovative, compelling service that also functions as a trial to reel in new customers?